


Undercover

by Hinn_Raven



Series: Rising Tide [1]
Category: Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Kaldur Week, Kaldurama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-22
Updated: 2013-07-22
Packaged: 2017-12-20 23:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/893280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hinn_Raven/pseuds/Hinn_Raven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one can believe it. Kaldur is gone. Left the Team. A week of reactions, from various perspectives. Part of Kaldurama on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undercover

Nightwing brings them the news on a Sunday night. It’s November, two weeks before Thanksgiving.

Kaldur has joined Black Manta.

There’s silence, disbelief, confusion. People exchange looks. La’gaan nearly  _attacks_ Nightwing, he’s so furious at what he’s implying about Kaldur.

No one would have held him back, if he had. 

* * *

Monday night finds Gar curled up outside Kaldur’s door. He had another nightmare. M’gann and Conner are comforting each other in their own way.

Mal, who lives across the hall from Kaldur, hears his quiet cries and hugs Gar. Mal takes him to the kitchen and makes him hot chocolate, telling him stories of high school. It’s not the same as Kaldur’s stories of Atlantis, and the hot chocolate’s not quite the Atlantean tea Kaldur makes, but it’s good nonetheless.

(Gar doesn’t take down the poster of Kaldur in his room until after M’gann tells him that Nightwing was telling the truth.)

* * *

Tuesday equals Artemis Crock and Wally West very drunk in their apartment. Their limbs tangle and their eyes are heavy and they scream and yell together about how it’s  _not right_. 

Artemis suggests mind control. Wally talks about alien-shapeshifters-that-are-not-Martians; Skrulls maybe, like in comic books. 

They cry and try to hope that it’s all one of Dick’s stupid jokes that’s going to end soon. 

* * *

Wednesday night is when Roy Harper (the second) hears the news. He punches Green Arrow (the messenger) in the jaw and runs off, refusing to hear anything else. 

He wants a drink. He wants Jade. He wants  _Kaldur_. 

As soon as he finds Speedy, he vows to himself, he’s going to find his best friend, knock him unconcious, and beat some sense into him. 

And then get nice and drunk together, like they should have done the minute Tula died. 

(Roy isn’t guilty, of course he’s not.)

* * *

Thursday morning finds Conner at Cadmus, reliving the past. He tries to imagine the boy—nearly a man, really, more-so than any of the others—who spoke to him and convinced him that he could be a hero turning away from that. Turning away from everything.

_You live._

He stands outside of his old pod, remembering.

Kaldur… he doesn’t understand. Kaldur was the one who always consoled him and Artemis about their blood lines. He was the one who held Nightwing when Robin— _Jason_  died, helped him to channel that grief and rage. Kaldur had built the Team into a family, helped forge bonds that Conner had considered unbreakable.

He looks at his hands—the same hands, not a day older since he stepped out of his Cadmus pod.  _Why_? He wants to scream.  _Why’d you leave us_?

They  _need_ him. Nightwing’s tentatively taken charge, but Dick’s nervous and worried, not that he’s letting anyone see. But Conner doesn’t know what to do. He’s drifting, without his oldest friend.

Didn’t Kaldur realize how much he was needed?

 _Ask yourself, what would Superman do_?

He slammed his fist against a wall, furious, because  _he doesn’t know_. What would Superman—Clark—Kal-El—do? Clark’s busy now, off-planet for some diplomatic thing involving Mars.

Conner doesn’t know what to do, what to think. He needs to talk to someone.

No.

He needs to talk to  _Kaldur_.

* * *

On Friday, M’gann psychically cleans Kaldur’s room of any dust. He’ll be coming back soon, after all.

M’gann hums to herself as she straightens out his few personal belongings. Photos of himself and Roy, himself and the Team, a few of him and Tula and Garth, a few military weapons, clothes, and books, mainly in Atlantean.

M’gann refuses to believe what Dick said. Kaldur wouldn’t. He never would do that.

She looks at the picture of Kaldur sitting next to Tula, looking at her lovingly, while her attention is on Garth. She peers at it, seeing the quiet mournfulness of his expression, and the longing.

He really loves— _loved_ —her.

She puts the picture down, unsure of herself.

* * *

Saturday sees La’gaan’s return to Atlantis. Tula’s funeral is that day.

He swims through the city, watching for Kaldur. Kaldur wouldn’t… he  _wouldn’t_ miss Tula’s funeral, would he? He loved her, La’gaan knew that. Most of the Conservatory of Sorcery knew that.

Lori doesn’t believe the news, which has reached Atlantis by this time. Neither does Blubber. Topo is livid, shaking in rage. La’gaan joins them. He doesn’t believe it. Kaldur is a _hero_. More than that, he’s  _Kaldur_. He’s good and kind and believes in fighting for what is right. La’gaan thinks that Kaldur’s the greatest man he’s ever known.

He doesn’t believe that anything like that could change so quickly.

The funeral is grand. The Queen is there, as is the King, and the young Prince. Garth is there, decked out in mourning colors, his face withdrawn. The entire class is there.

The small memorial is decked with flowers. Topo and Lori cast a spell that allows anyone who touches the name engraved to see Tula, laughing and smiling as she was in life, not solemn and pale like the body they buried.

As the crowd leaves, La’gaan thinks he sees Kaldur, hair short and clothed in clack, swimming away. He gives chase, but the figure is fast, and knows the city better than he.

He doesn’t mention it to anyone.

* * *

On Sunday, Dick meets Kaldur in a secluded cove in Alaska.

“All set?” He asks, still burning with guilt.

Kaldur nods, eyes already weary. This deception will take a toll on both of them, they know.

“You could still back out,” Dick says. “There’s still time.”

“My friend,” Kaldur says softly. “This was my plan, remember. It is my choice. I have accepted the consequences.”

Dick runs his hands through his hair. “I know, I know… I just…”  _I’m not ready. I don’t want to be Batman. I can’t do this. I need you._  He settles for; “So much could go wrong.”

“And so much could go right. We have to hope.”

The two hug, briefly, and then part. Dick hacks the zeta-tubes to remove any proof of his presence there.

It never happened. 


End file.
